SBI has a large network across the country. This will definitely help the start­ups, especially ones with social relevance, to reach out to the larger community.Rica Bhattacharyya | ET Bureau | July 12, 2016, 19:24 IST

The Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) at IIT Bombay has entered into a pact with State Bank of India to promote innovation by start­ups in the financial sector.

Both the institute and SBI will identify fintech start­ups that have products or applications to cater to the financial sector and can help SBI to explore opportunities to enhance the synergy for their banking services. SBI will provide a platform for testing or piloting such products and applications and maybe also check for any specific business linkages, an IIT Bombay press release said.

SBI has a large network across the country. This will definitely help the start­ups, especially ones with social relevance, to reach out to the larger community. Also, SBI can help in soft landing of start­ups abroad.

Both SINE and SBI will try to understand the key pain areas faced by the entrepreneurial community and help seek solutions. SBI will interact with the entrepreneurial and research community at IIT Bombay including e­ cell, Desai Centre, start­ups of SINE to understand latest research, innovations and conduct knowledge sessions for mutual benefit to arrive.